Talking to the Spirits

staying simple in the air and wind, taking in the first snowof the year, what covers the mountains in the distance. I alwayscall this a new start. Trying to learn what I don’t know by trackingwhat I already do, in a steady way, the only way I know to be.

I sit as quietly as possible and breathe in deep. Nearby,a hummingbird collects pollen from one winter flower afteranother one. The white tailed rabbits race away over the hillsof sand. The crows in the sycamore survey it all--this is exactly what they do best. Overhead, the half moon is clear in the blue sky. I am listening in on life exactly where I am, walking about, staying

put. All the words I’ve learned in my life bring me to places I already knew. The wrens in the bushes burrow deep against the cold.The season changes and I have to change with it like everything else around me. I’m walking and listening and sitting and breathing deep.

In the beginning, I thought there was more to it than this.But now I know this is how to move forward in life, watching the wild crows and the roadrunner collecting twigs. All of ustaking to the world around us, slowly and patiently, easing on.